Tilehurst robber fails to have his conviction quashed

A robber who snatched £2,000 from a man after knocking him unconscious on his own doorstep can have no complaint about his conviction, top judges have ruled.

Jermaine David Kwaramba, 33, and another mugger, subjected Daniel Merchant to a frightening stick-up after following him home from a Caversham cash machine.

Kwaramba, of Severn Way, Tilehurst, was jailed for five years after he admitted robbery at Reading Crown Court in November 2011.

On Thursday last week, three senior judges at London’s Appeal Court rejected a bid by Kwaramba to have his conviction quashed.

The court ruled there was ‘no arguable basis’ for Kwaramba’s claims that he never meant to plead guilty.

Mr Justice Coulson said that Kwaramba was in the Caversham branch of Barclays when he spotted Mr Merchant withdrawing the four-figure sum and followed him to a pub in March 2011.

Kwaramba phoned an accomplice and the pair stalked Mr Merchant as he walked home from the pub, rushing at him when he spotted them and tried to close his front door.

The muggers forced their way in and attacked Mr Merchant, knocking him out cold, before making their getaway with the cash they had snatched from his unconscious body.

After he was later arrested, Kwaramba admitted committing a similar robbery but denied holding up Mr Merchant.

As his trial was about to start, Kwaramba dismissed his barrister and decided to represent himself, before changing his mind and asking the judge to allow his counsel to resume control of his defence later in the proceedings, Mr Justice Coulson said.

With his barrister back in the driving seat, Kwaramba admitted the robbery and was sentenced to five years for the raid on Mr Merchant with 18 months, consecutive, to be served for the other robbery.

On Thursday, Kwaramba asked for permission to appeal his conviction connected to the attack on Mr Merchant, claiming he never intended to admit the offence and criticising his legal representation at trial.

But Mr Justice Coulson, sitting with Lord Justice Leveson and Mr Justice Green, said Kwaramba’s bid to appeal was well beyond the usual deadline – and also had no chance of success.

“We have considered the merits of the application and there is no basis at all for it. We think the conviction is entirely safe. There was overwhelming evidence against Kwaramba,” he said.

Kwaramba’s lawyers had acted entirely properly and the judge concluded: “For all these reasons, the renewed application for permission to appeal is dismissed.”